Tunisian presidential candidate Ahmed Brahim makes case for change

2009-10-23

"Honest people will make only the promises they can meet," according to Ahmed Brahim, who is campaigning hard in the run-up to Tunisia's Sunday (October 25th) presidential election.

By Jamel Arfaoui for Magharebia in Tunis – 23/10/09

[Mona Yahia] Ahmed Brahim hopes voters support him and his Ettajdid Movement in the fast-approaching Tunisian presidential election.

Ahmed Brahim, leader of the Ettajdid Movement, is standing for election in Tunisia on Sunday (October 25th) in part to break what he calls "the circle of fake candidacy". Brahim, who faces an election whose results are widely called a foregone conclusion, is challenging the incumbent, President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, who is seeking a fifth term.

If he manages to beat Ben Ali and several other opponents, Brahim vows to uphold the right of his compatriots to enjoy all the democratic rights contained in the country's constitution.

Magharebia: You've said that current political conditions in Tunisia do not allow for real competition in elections. Now that the election is only a few days off, do you still believe this?

Ahmed Brahim: The prevailing atmosphere today is an unreal atmosphere of consensus that is more similar to a declaration of allegiance than preparation of elections that meet the minimum requirements. You can see it easily. Make a tour in the streets of cities and villages across the country to see the posters, pictures and banners that glorify and declare allegiance to the candidate of the ruling party and present him as the "only solution", and the "only candidate". In the same time, our Movement was prevented from placing a single picture of our candidate on the facade of our headquarters in the capital! This is in addition to our complete exclusion from the public media outlets of all types, and the launch of biased propaganda campaigns against us with clear encouragement from certain entities in executive authorities.

Add to all this the control of every detail by the authorities throughout the phases of the election process, starting with registration in books to the determination of the number of ballot offices, the appointment of supervisors and the unilateral management of the sorting and calculation operations of votes. If such a condition continued, it would be a fallacy to speak about real competition between the candidates.

Magharebia: Unemployment presents a real problem for Tunisian leaders. Do you have a solution for this problem?

Brahim: It's really a dilemma and a real tragedy. There are many and varied causes for this problem and no one can claim that they have a ready-made magical solution for it. However, this doesn't mean that we can't adopt other policies that would reduce the severity of unemployment and bring it to much lower levels as compared to now. We all know that the problem of unemployment is closely linked to development, and, therefore, when the country can raise the rate of its development, it will succeed in creating more jobs, and thus reduce unemployment.

Magharebia: What are your biggest criticisms of Tunisia's human rights situation? How can it be improved?

Brahim: The criticisms against human rights conditions in Tunisia are basically related to total civil and political rights. Although these rights are enshrined in the Constitution, however, in reality, they are subject to the discretionary authority of the Interior Ministry that acknowledges just one criterion: allegiance to the regime, or, at least, no conflict with its interests.

The comprehensive political reform which we call for, which aims at establishing governance, must start with immediate measures, such as the release of prisoners of the mining basin; issuing a general pardon for all those who were tried because of their opinions; respect of individual and public freedoms; and incrimination of torture. Political reform also aims at providing a solid base for the development of a human rights system in our country on bases that conform to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the relevant international treaties.

Magharebia: What are you promising voters in order to gain their support?

Brahim: Honest people will make only the promises they can meet. Based on that, the only promise I can make to voters is to insist on the right of citizens to enjoy all the democratic rights enshrined in the country's Constitution and to do our best to embody that on the ground. This would require broader popular participation in the activities and events that we will organize, before, during and after the election. This is because political struggle is a long process that can't be restricted to events however important they may be. The credibility of these promises will also be embodied in the commitment by the MPs who will represent Ettajdid Movement and the National Initiative for Democracy and Progress to defend people's issues and to firmly face all aspects of usurpation of rights and misuse of power, and to present proposals for political reforms in the form of draft laws.